About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2025)
5250 JACKPOT PRIZE FOR PERFECT BALLOT IN FOOTBALL CONTES »SEE PAGE B4 VOLUME 164 • NO. 38 PUBLISHED CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1861 Gatonton dessenuer X. Official organ of Putnam County and City of Eatonton V - Locally Owned by Smith Communications Inc. 4) County and City of Eatonton THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 ("bwww.msgrnews.com G PA SPCIAIL GNEWS City adopts ordinance banning vape, tobacco shops Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com The Eatonton City Council worked through a fairly lengthy agenda Monday night. The first order of business was approving a request from The Knights of Columbus to authorize its annual Tootsie Roll Drive to benefit Special Olympics Georgia. The event is scheduled this year for Oct. 2-3, at the intersection of East Sumter Street and Jefferson Avenue. On the same weekend, Putnam County High School was cleared to reinstate its Homecoming parade through downtown Eatonton. City leaders expressed confidence that state transportation offi cials will also approve the route, which involves Hwy. 16, a state highway. Another approval allowed for the temporary closure of a section of North Madison Avenue in front of The Plaza Arts Center to vehicle traffic on Oct. 6 for the Taste of Eatonton festival. Ward 2 Councilmember James Gorley expressed concern about past lapses in communi cation with nearby businesses during similar events but was assured that adequate notifi cation will be provided to local operators. Additionally, the council approved an alcohol license for the El Catrin Taqueria, a new restaurant located opposite the Uncle Remus Museum. The approval came after the council confirmed the appli cation met all requirements regarding distance from nearby structures. Infrastructure projects then dominated, led by councilmem bers voting unanimously to MORE CITY » A6 IAN TOCHER/Staff Putnam County High School's MSgt. Michael Taylor (left) led several Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) members who served as the color guard last Thursday for the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Putnam County Veterans Wall of Honor Park in Eatonton. Putnam County honors 9/11 victims and first responders Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com Community members gathered early last Thursday morning at the Putnam County Veterans Wall of Honor Park for a brief, solemn cere mony marking the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pa. Approximately 40 local officials, first responders, veterans, and citizens came together to remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day and to honor those who continue to serve. The second-annual event, orga nized and hosted by Eatonton VFW Thrift Store manager Nikki Barker, was attended by past and present members of the Putnam County Board of Commissioners, city and county officials, local police and fire department personnel, and members of the Putnam County High School chorus and band. “On September 11th, 2001, we were all Americans, and we were all bleeding red, white, and blue,” Barker said to open the event. “We accepted one another. We were nicer MORE 9/11 » A2 Taste of Eatonton serves up local flavor Ian Tocher ian@msgrnews.com Eatonton’s most flavorful evening will return next month when Taste of Eatonton, hosted by the Eaton ton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce, takes over the grounds outside The Plaza Arts Center. This annual event brings together local restaurants, food trucks, and specialty vendors for an evening that’s equal parts tasting session and community celebration. “This is an annual event that we have to showcase restaurants,” Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce President Robbie King said. “It gives you an opportunity to experience several different restau rants all in one night.” For $20, attendees receive 15 tickets, each valued at one dollar, which can be exchanged for food samples. Vendors are required to price their offerings between one and five tickets, with most portions sized just right for tasting. “You’re not going to get a full steak dinner there,” King said, laughing. “The idea is to try small bites so you can taste different offerings from several different restaurants.” Taste of Eatonton typically features about 10 food vendors, with additional booths offering every thing from local honey and produce to arts and crafts. Past years have MORE TASTE »A3 Landowners near Rivian defeat state demand for legal costs Ty Tagami Capitol Beat News Service A half dozen landowners who filed a lawsuit that might have halted development of the massive Rivian auto plant near Social Circle do not have to pay some of the legal costs spent by the state to defend the project. Lawyers hired by Georgia and by a local development authority asked a judge in Morgan County to make the landowners pay for the taxpayer dollars Georgia paid them, arguing that the plaintiffs had brought a frivo lous lawsuit. But the judge ruled against the state, determining that the suit was an earnest attempt to determine whether Georgia officials had the authority to waive local land use rules for a private development project on public land. The state bypassed the agri cultural zoning for the 2,000- acre property by purchasing it, then leasing it to the Joint Development Authority for Morgan and nearby counties, which in turn leased it to elec tric automaker Rivian. Nearby landowners sued, asking whether a for-profit corporation that makes auto mobiles on public land was a “governmental purpose” that would trigger legal immunity. The court decision means the landowners do not have to pay the state’s legal costs of $338,000 in the Morgan County lawsuit. “It would have been finan cially devastating for these people,” one of the landowners’ MORE RIVIAN >: A2 0 94922 87854 WEATHER 89 HIGH Thursday Mostly Sunny 64 LOW Detailed forecast / D6 For breaking news or to subscribe, visit www.msgrnews.com or call 706-485-3501 SMITH COMMUNICATIONS Newspapers • Magazines • Printing Gators break into win column » PAGE Bl INSIDE THIS WEEK Classifieds D2 Public Record A7 Community C1 Opinions A4 Crossword Puzzle C5 Obituaries A6 Legal Notices D4 Sports B1 Bennett to Boy beat out the low riders and big rigs to win last week's drag racing in downtown Eatonton. The speeding truck hit both red lights in town and was cruising about 50 mph when it cleared City Hall on Jefferson Avenue. Where are the Speed-O-Meters and the city's finest? I understand the meters were purchased a long time ago, but told there's only one up, out of town. Why? City should retrieve the old portable one used years ago from the scrap heap! Glad to see Putnam's War Eagles football team get a week off to rest up for the next game. Also saw Gatewood got a much-needed win on Friday night over visiting Mount de Sales 13-10 in a close game. And UGA Dawgs won 44-41 in overtime over a good Tennessee team in Knoxville. Zeke and I caught a mess of channel catfish using his famous stink bait. Not sure I even want to know what it's made of. Just know Hot Dog , won't go near it and Budweiser always avoided / 12 it. Look forward to cooler weather. Plowed up my burned-up garden. PUTNAM BEAT LU7A- 030 LLIE WTSONHERTAP •*EL0B 00303RUIZ UEzuazDuS [089
